DC Prime: Batman & Superman: Worlds Finest
by DC Prime Universe
Summary: Part of the DC Prime universe: The Anti-Life Equation has come to Earth and is infecting people all over the globe and its up to the 2 most dangerous people on the planet to shut it down. Superman and Batman battle against a force of nature, an equation that creates the opposite of life incarnate. How do you defeat an equation? How do you defeat an idea?
1. Chapter 1

Batman/ Superman: World's Finest

Issue 1 By RoninReviews

* * *

Batman Narration:

Gotham Docks, 22:45. Few cargo ships dropping off the latest Wayne Tech from the South Korean factories. The factories give Batman INC a stronger foothold in some of the LDCs of the world. Also the workers are cheap. I've got one of the biggest agencies in the world working for me and I'm still snooping round these docks after my bed time. No fear suit tonight, only the bare essentials. Light utility belt. Face mask. Dark grey swim suit. No bats. Not tonight. Not this night, the night the bat came to me. The night my parents died. Bert Taliono is the owner of Dinosaur Industries, a powerful company that sells construction vehicles like Diggers and Steam Rollers, family man with his adopted children but is really not all that nice. He killed 5 people in the 2 days and he's only been here 3 since he got back from a family vacation to Miami. Mostly bums but a few prostitutes. Which switch has flipped Mr. Taliono? Maybe the death of your wife 3 months ago in that freak accident at the construction yard hm? Although he's got that new actress girlfriend, she was very intelligent, won a Nobel prize the year you were married, obviously she was too high brow for you, you sick freak!

This isn't usually my thing but tonight I don't feel like tearing down monsters, only weasels like Taliono. He's got 8 Yachts docked at this bay. I've still got him beat 1:2 but he's got some beauties. I pad along to the boat that he's after his latest adopted kid 'Gemini.' I open the gas tank to find a face floating in a crude oil. I drop a tracer in the water. Some more body parts float to the surface. The poor bastards are white out. Here he comes. His fat legs carry his frumpy body towards the boat. He's got a silenced 45. In the back of his running track suit. I creep around the side and back on to the dock. I hide behind some lobster boxes. He walks up the plank and unties the docking rope. He throws it over where I'm hidden. I'm still. He lights a cigar and starts up the engines and the boat leaves the shore. I race along behind it and dive into the water when the concrete stops. I have to get this bastard and find out where the other bodies are.

Superman Narration:

I love Nigeria. Nigeria is one of the poorer countries on Earth with corruption tearing the country to its core. Poverty running rampant and that most of its inhabitants pray for their next meal. It is where I come to relax. The kids always like to see me. The looks on their little faces when I float from the sky, it's so... 'It's why god has put us here Clark.' as Ma would say. Lois would probably say something extravagant and meaningful (with a hint of cynicism), but Ma always puts things into perspective. If I've had a bad day or got the snot beaten out of me by a giant alien cucumber I can always get a welcome greeting here in Nigeria. Right now it's 3:45 but these kids are up already with the sun slowly rising. A patter of tiny hands jostles me awake not that I'm particularly tired or need to sleep. It's just a habit. The kids want me to come and see something. I pull my S-shirt on over my jeans. I like coming here because I don't have to wear the full suit but I can still be big blue. I follow them through a valley of craggy rocks.

I hear a whining growl as we approach a clearing. A battered Lioness snarls us. Her hind legs are trapped under a large boulder. She hates this. They want me to help it. I approach her but Nilo grabs my cape and hands me a tribal spear. She says something enthusiastically that I don't understand and points at the Lioness. When I hold the spear the children cheer. Oh no...

Batman Narration: I hit the water. My body straightens like a spear and I'm gone. I push a breather in my mouth and press on. My legs are stiff with the cold. My joins yells, but my blood tells it to shut up and take it. The boat comes to a haut about half a mile of the city. I'm almost there just c'mon! I'm a humanoid goose bump now, and I'm still nowhere near Taliono's death cruise. Knew I shouldn't have eaten that Steak at the Mayor's fundraiser. Catching up I grab the rudder of the boat. Toliono is working on something in the tank, a hacking movement, hm. Is he a cannibal? That why you're so fat Bert? Hungry for people you sick...

Taliono retrieves a hand from the tank and walks over to the side of the boat. He leans over and hums softly to the water.

Batman Narration: Right. Now what?

After a few seconds a zombified woman comes to the surface. She is covered in black ooze with her arms and legs mangled and out of proportion. She has giant fangs and her eyes are completely black.

Batman Narration: That's his wife! Francesca Taliono. What the hell happened to her?

She grabs the hand Bert has torn off the corpse and begins to savagely devour it.

Bert: There you go my lovely, is that good? Excellent! I've got more where that came from my darling.

Batman: He's breaking down. Sobbing to himself.

Bert: It will be alright my dear. I'll find a cure, but no one must know. They'll lock you away for good. I can't have that for my darling. No no-no. You can eat fish here and be free from the...

Batman Narration: I've heard enough.

Batman creeps over to him and smashes his head against the side of the boat.

Batman: I want a damn explanation now. What is this sickness?!

Taliono: Bah I- I- don't know. I got back home and she was there waiting for me. I grabbed her before anyone c-could see her and threw her in my car boot and took her out here. She'd only eat human flesh. I couldn't feed her any meat so I- I killed people. I 'sob' can't let her go. C-can't...

Superman Narration: Well this is a difficult situation. I try to tell Nilo that I can't kill the lioness and she just explains more enthusiastically than before. Oh boy. Ok Kent. You've gotten out of more difficult situations before. You can do it this time. I breathe and walk towards the boulder.

Clark: Run. Go back to the village.

The children run back a few meters and then watch from a clearing. Clark looks as they go and sighs. Clark then uses the spear to lift the boulder from the lioness whilst grasping the cuff of her neck. In one smooth gesture he flips the stone and takes the snarling lioness out from under it. He flies straight up with the lioness snarling and clawing at him. He flies out 3 miles away. He gently lets the lioness go.

Superman Narration:

I'm dead.

Back at the village

Superman stands in front of almost the entire village. A tiny old woman wearing tribal quilt made of animal skins. She is blind and holds a staff covered with marking and feathers. Men and Woman stand around her whilst the children hang around behind Superman some holding his cape. All eyes are on either Superman or the Village elder.

Village Elder (Broken English): You take... our food from us. That feed us you... American boy, you think you do a right thing? We no eat now you ... fool.

She hits Superman around the head with her staff.

Village Elder: I ... you no welcome here again American fool. They say you fly... like bird but I hope you fall like... rock. We no need your help no more American boy.

Superman: I'm... I'm sorry.

Village Elder: You still here? Leave village!

Superman takes off. He waves good-bye to the children before he leaves and then with a boom he's off.

Superman N:

Ok. That... uh that could have gone better.

Gotham

Batman: I need more. How did this happen to her?

Bert: I- I don't know. She was in her lab for months. She fired all her employees but still went to work every day, locked in her lab not leaving. She was so distant all the time and then I was picking up the kids from school one day and found her in that state.

Batman lets Bert go, he rushes away from Batman, tears streaming down his face. As he stumbles back he bumps into the side of the boat and falls over board. Batman rushes over and tries to help him out, but his wife gets to him first, she extends her jet black fangs and tears into him ripping chunks off of his flesh and all Batman can do is watch as the dark water fills with blood. After about 15 minutes of chomping Batman helps the creature out of the water and on to the boat, he opens the hatch with the dead body parts in it and leaves. On his swim back to the shore all he can feel is guilt.

Batman Narration: I make my way back to the cave, Alfred greets me with his regular does of British cynicism, but I don't go with the usual light banter. I take an early night which for me is any sleep at all, but all I can think about is the chomping. Stay up late cataloguing the files. I eventually gain the courage to research Dr. Maureen Taliono's work. Turns out her lab worked on Theoretical Physics (An area that I am currently fascinated with.) Roughly around the time her assistants were fired she was working on something called the Anti-Life equation, an equation that apparently negates life, through accessing an alternate frame of our reality. How she got the way she was is still a mystery. I visit her lab, a haven for a super genius; technology that I've had trouble getting my hands on in the past is littered around the room. This garden of modern technological Eden is empty, unused. I'll have Alfred see if I can have my lawyers weasel it out of police custody by lunch time. I sieve through the folders filled with scientific breakthroughs and Nobel Prize winners till I find the ominously named Anti-Life equation papers. And that's all I remember.

Bruce raises his head and looks at Alfred. Bruce has a shocked/ afraid look in his face. Bruce is leaned over a 18th century couch in the Bat cave, classic furniture among the endless caverns filled with machinery and weaponry, Alfred has brought Bruce tea.

Alfred: My... so you stumbled your way through the streets of Gotham, and managed to get yourself back here. Sir... whatever lies within this folder, there is an ungodly force behind it.

Russia, Power plant

The huge fusion towers crumble as massive explosions tear the surrounding buildings apart. Workers pour from the buildings as fire trucks arrive and frantically work to diffuse the flames. Superman is being pressed against one of the falling walls of the fusion tower trying to keep it from falling on a group of workers. His muscles grip as the 100 + tons of sheer stone presses down on him. His small palms against the inanimate goliath, a bead of sweat slowly forms on his forehead and falls to the ground, Clark watches the sweat for a second and catastrophe reigns supreme for that second without his attention. The wall screeches forward, Clark regained his attention, and as he applies more force to the wall it was too much as a huge crack forms from his hand and streaks up the side of the wall, the structure begins to break apart and crumble.

Superman Narration: No, no, no, no. People still in the way, don't think about the lives, heat vision got to break down the molecules of the chunks before they hit the ground. Come crank it out.

A sound like a thread being put through the eye of a needle echoes from Clarks eyes. The huge chunks of rock smash into a fine powder as the white-hot intense heat strikes them. As he concentrates on the rocks falling towards the people a huge on takes him out of nowhere, and he's slammed into the ground. He pushes the stone off him momentarily drained from the use of his heat vision at such a calibre. He looks up to see the workers applauding his efforts.

Superman N: See, this is what makes it worthwhile.

Half an hour later, inside the Power plant

Walking through the empty corridors, Superman clears a path of destruction caused by the explosions.

Superman N: The explosions first took place within the core labs of the facility where apparently black hole looking energy portals were seen causing machinery to malfunction and its effect on people was devastating. They turned completely black, like human silhouettes and screamed a distorted warped noise as their atoms were replaced by a strange type of energy. They attacked their co-workers before dissipating to nothing within a few seconds of being exposed to the black holes.

Superman reaches a room with a large column smashed through the ceiling. The lab is in ruins with equipment, machinery and furniture tipped all over the floor. Superman turns to see the machine. It is causing all the surfaces around it to become completely black with a large trail across the floor of black energy and causes the objects to float around very slowly. Superman approaches it with caution; as he nears the black hole the dark energy infused objects start to float nearer to him. He uses his super vision on it but all he can see is the darkness. He slowly begins to reach out but suddenly a dark energy human arm launches out of the portal and grabs his hand. Superman jerks it off him and backs away.

Superman: Umm... hello? I don't mean any harm. I'm Superman.

The arm grabs the side of the portal and pulls itself out, the dark creature is has liquefied dark matter dropping from itself. The creature pulls itself completely out of the portal and slowly gets to its feet. The dark energy is flicking off of the creature's long flowing cape and as it looks up it resembles Batman.

Dark Energy Batman: S- suuupppper- mm-mmmann-nnnnannnn... H-h-elllppp... mm-m-m-eeee...

* * *

**Next: What is the anti-life equation? What is causing people around the world to become Anti-Life equation creatures? Also: Space!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Batman/ Superman: World's Finest**  
**Issue 2 By RoninReviews**

The giant tyrannosaurus of the Batcave looms over Bruce as he franticly works on a large engine like machine. Thick titanium nails sit on his teeth like ballerinas on a tight rope, the strong metallic taste engulfs his mouth, the taste sooths him.

His nose is red from the cold of the cave and bags hang from his eyes. He's in one of those moods. His oil stained white vest and jeans are becoming dirtier by the second. He rushes over to a huge smelter he made himself.

He pulls on Nth Metal gloves to protect him from the heat and grabs his Atlantean tongs used to extract white hot lava from the core of the Earth. Amongst the cosmic flames of the smelter he spots the dark matter seed; a tiny black oval now at around 30 thousand degrees.

He carefully moves back over to the large engine like machine and throws open a small hatch on the side and places the Dark Matter Seed in to it. He throws his tongs and gloves to the ground and rushes round to the other side of the engine. He quickly grasps two levers and pulls with all his might.

His muscles tighten till they almost pop, beads of sweat go to war with the previous beads of sweat on the battle ground of his forehead. His teeth grit and he manages to pull down the levers, as they swing down a huge boom sound comes from the engine.

Bruce rushes over to the front of the engine where a small telescope like device is fastened to the front of the machine. He pushes a button on the side of the telescope and a beam of light streams from it and onto a white screen Bruce has positioned in front of it.

Bruce: Yes! Finally!

The beam focuses and begins to expand across the screen till it touches each side. Bruce slowly walks towards it a, mesmerised by its beauty. As he reaches out to touch it his finger tips feel a great jolt and the jolt passes through his body, he feels like a rubber band being stretched to the breaking point, his insides congeal into a thick paste and he remembers all the most embarrassing moments of his teenage years.

Before he knows it he is falling, falling through a sea of neither black or white or anything. He feels his eyes open but there isn't a sight to great them. He falls for what seems to be forever when he is awoken sturdy thump. He looks up to see Superman standing over him.

Bruce: Superman? What just happened?

Superman: Bruce Wayne?

Bruce: What?

He looks down at himself to see the remnants of his Bat suit attached to himself in the form of dark goo. He wipes the last of the goo off of himself and gets to his feet.

Superman: Mr. Wayne. I don't know what's happening here but you just came through that portal with that weird goo stuff surrounding you and you looked like Batman. Well the goo made you look like Batman.

Bruce: I am Batman, Clark.

Superman: I was keeping up the act. I didn't want you to feel like you couldn't out smart me. Also how do you know my real name?

Bruce: Seriously Clark. You think I wouldn't want to find out where the most powerful man on the planet goes for his dry cleaning?

Superman: We've been working together for about a year now how come that never came up?

Bruce: I don't make small talk and I don't particularly like you.

Superman: You don't have to put the voice on now y'know. There isn't anyone around that could hear us anyway. The entire facility has been evacuated.

Bruce: Where are we?

Superman: Russia.

Bruce: And what's just happened?

Superman: I was hoping you could give me a little help on that behalf. The plant went into melt down when there was an explosion in this building. That lead to the reactor chamber being shut down and more explosions, one of the towers almost fells but I stopped it. I made my way in here and I found this machine and  
well that's where you came in.

Bruce: I need to do more research.

Superman: Whatever we're dealing with here it's some pretty crazy stuff. Maybe we should call our team.

Bruce: No. This incident has happened on multiple occasions, if we bring in the team the news will get out about this stuff. This isn't a threat or an enemy we're facing here. It's force of nature.

Superman (Takes his communicator from his belt): That's not a good enough reason. We work as a team. We help each other with problems.

Bruce: Put down your communicator now.

Superman: Make me.

Bruce: JLA system full access code: 703tyx5. Emergency lock down.

Communicator: Full access granted. Emergency shutdown activated.

Superman: You sonuvagun.

Bruce: Don't mess with the tech guy.

Superman: Now what? We go after whoever did this? Is it even illegal to summon a weird machine to make bizarre black creatures that then violently explode? No one was actually killed, there were some injured but that was it.

Bruce: Don't be an imbecile. (Ear piece) Alfred, send my suit to my co-ordinates.

Alfred: Sir if I may I believe you should get some rest. You've been working on that blasted machine without rest for the last few days when you weren't out on patrol. It's starting to emit bizarre black ooze and it doesn't seem to want to be cleaned up.

Bruce: Don't touch it Alfred. Put the machine somewhere safe, have the prototype Bat-bot guard it and make sure Robin finishes his homework... thanks Alfred.

Superman: Why do you put Bat infront of everything? Do you do that?

Batman: Robin got in into my head.

Superman: You made one of these machines? (Gestures to the dark energy machine)

Bruce: Yes. I found a woman who had been for lack of a better term, zombified through just studying this... thing.

Superman: And you thought you just make one of your own?

Bruce: It was the only logical option.

Superman: ... Maybe. Somehow these machines are connected, that's how you came through yours so logically we should be able to go back through it.

Bruce: I'm not going through that thing again. It felt like all my atoms were having a dirty basement knife fight at once.

Superman: Well we outta try it out.

Bruce: No the objective now is to track down whoever is responsible for this and bringing an end to it.

Superman: You can go ahead. I'm going through this thing.

Superman puts his hand towards the dark energy and as his finger glints the coursing dark void a strong pulse vibrates through his body and he quickly pulls his hand out. He shakes his hand to relive the pain.

Superman: Yeee-ouch.

Bruce: Are you done messing around yet? I've got a lead.

Superman: Yeah I can smell them. Lots of anti depressants, un clean, male, Vodka.

Bruce: Sounds like a regular Russian.

Superman: Now that's not nice.

Bruce: I lived in Russia for a month, training in wilderness survival; you'll learn that the Russians aren't exactly a friendly bunch.

Superman: Well I'm surprised you didn't fit right in.

Bruce: Ran out of the plant as fast as he could.

Superman: Headed out into the woods, by the plant and continued North.

Bruce: Let's move.

1 Mile away, Night time, Russian tundra

Bruce is now dressed in his full Batman gear, he trudges through the thick snow coming down hard, while Superman floats near, him.

Superman: Are you sure you don't want a lift?

Batman: Stay where I can see you, I don't want you charging off, this thing is dangerous.

Superman: Sorry mom. I didn't think you worried about me like that Bruce.

Batman: You are an arrogant child with too much power, I'm surprised the Government haven't tried to nuke you yet.

Superman: Because they trust me Bruce. Unlike the people of Gotham, you are so sworn to protect.

Batman: They trust you? Keep telling yourself that. I on the other hand, am not out to get trust. I trust no one and no one trusts me. In my books that suits me just fine.

Superman: You can't act like that Bruce-

Batman: Stop calling me Bruce. No one calls me Bruce.

Superman: What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

Batman: Shut up. We're here.

Superman looks up to see a small cottage surrounded by the snow.

Batman: What do we have?

Superman: Old lookin guy, 45-50 type age. He has 2 hand guns, pistols I don't know, what are they called?

Batman: Keep looking.

Superman: He's got another one of those weird machines, He is currently pacing. Same weird energy is coming off of the device.

Batman (Walks over to the door): I'm going in. If I need back up I'll call.

Superman: Sorry what?

Batman turns around to see Superman standing over the old Russian guy, with his hands tied up and him lying on the ground.

Batman: Ugh...

Superman: Hey, don't worry. I sorted it.

Batman: I can see that. You idiot. You don't know what he could have been hiding.

Superman: Umm yes I could have... that's actually one of my superpowers.

Batman: He could have been hiding it with lead.  
The two entre the shady log cabin, Batman takes out his torch and starts searching the cabin, steering clear of the dark energy machine.

Superman: Well I didn't see any lead.

Batman: You can't just run into situations thinking you know what you're up against!

Superman: Yeah but y'see I could. It's one of my superpowers.

Batman: YES. You said that! I was talking about in general.

He starts scanning the scene, documenting evidence, not leaving a trace, and unleashing an array of skills that would impress any forensic scientist. Superman admires a painting of a sail boat on the mantel piece.

Superman: Did you just make like a vague statement about life and how we live it?

Batman: I was talking strictly about your tactics.

Superman: I don't think you were.

As Batman scopes out the kitchen area, Superman hears a faint scratching sound coming from the machine, like a spark lighting and dying and lighting again. He rushes into action, the machine begins to bubble with energy and suddenly fires a strike of dark energy lightening from the centre.

Superman stands in front of the strike before it blows up the house absorbing the energy into his super god DNA, his atom bomb cells rushing to extinguish it from his system and in a matter of milli-seconds it has left as soon as it came.

Superman suddenly collapses as the lightening blasts off of him and into the atmosphere dissipating across the icy wasteland. Batman rushes to his side and instantly puts his medical training from Nigeria into action.

Batman: Clark! Clark can you hear me? It's Bruce. It's going to be ok.

Superman: uurrrrhh... ma, I don't wanna get up fr shool... five more minits...

Batman: Clark! Stay with me, don't pass out.

Superman: -cough! Ack!- Heff... phew, that took the wind outta me.

Batman: You alright? Can you stand? How's your eye sight?

Superman (clutching Batman's shoulder as he gets to his feet): Yes, yes I'm fine Ma. What was that all about?

The two exit the cabin in search of the energy that escaped the cabin, after the blast.

Batman: By my calculations, you just got hit with the proportionate strength of a being hit by 37 freight trains at top speed, all at once.

Superman: Yeah, been working out.

Suddenly another blast of energy hits Superman again from out of nowhere throwing him across the barren landscape.

Batman: 45 freight trains.

Batman turns to see a group of dark energy being stumbling towards him, their limbs form as they near him. Dark energy crackles off their bodies with every step they take.

As they draw near some begin to grow Batman like ears and cowls. Some begin to grow his facial features where others develop his armour and cape.

Batman (Thoughts): Cognitive hive mindset. Primitive mimicking capabilities. This energy from the anti-life equation seems to be almost like clay. Forming to different scenarios, to fend off aggressors. Fascinating. Must be destroyed.

Superman lies dormant in the snow. His eyes force open as the last of the energy is destroyed from his cells. A huge dark energy creature looms over him, growing in size till it is almost at the height of a Metropolis sky scraper.

It makes the noise of an explosion in slow motion and backwards as it slowly looms nearer and nearer, tearing down the walls of his ear cilia. It reaches out its enormous arm down towards Clark, the giant index finger presses down on his limp torso and he lets the dark energy flow through his cells.

Batman tears the head off of one of the Dark energy Batman. The next one rushes at him attempting to tear off his. He plunges a Batarang through its neck, unleashing a flurry of blows on the next. They all produce Batarang's from their hands.  
Batman: More copy cats.

As he poses in position to defeat the group, the entire fight planned out in his mind, he is grabbed off the ground by his neck and smashed to the fresh snowy ground.

Dazed he slowly looks up to see Superman with his mighty hand around his neck, holding him down, the dark energy seeping around his body, glowing from his eyes. Batman writhes in his hold, gasping for air as his wind pipe is slowly being closed tight.

**Next: Batman Versus Superman! Finally!**


End file.
